Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithography apparatus, a lithography method, a lithography system, a storage medium, and an article manufacturing method.
Description of the Related Art
Lithography apparatuses form a pattern on a workpiece (substrate) in a lithography step included in steps of manufacturing articles such as semiconductor devices, MEMSs, and the like. An example of lithography apparatuses includes an imprint apparatus that molds an uncured resin on a substrate using a mold so as to form a resin pattern on the substrate. For example, the imprint apparatus employing a photo-curing method firstly coats an uncured photocurable resin on a substrate and cures the resin under to irradiation of light in a state where the resin is brought into contact with a mold. After the resin is cured, the substrate is spaced from the mold (the substrate is released from the mold), whereby a resin pattern is formed on the substrate. However, such imprint apparatuses exhibit a poor productivity as compared with other lithography apparatuses such as exposure apparatuses. Thus, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-210992 discloses a cluster-type imprint apparatus that includes a plurality of imprint modules (hereinafter simply referred to as “modules”), a conveyance mechanism which is shared between the modules, and the like so as to improve the productivity as a whole.
However, it is difficult for the imprint apparatus to perform complex pattern shape correction. In addition, since it is difficult for the cluster-type imprint apparatus to match the characteristics of a plurality of modules, the shape of the pattern formed by using one cluster-type imprint apparatus varies for each module which forms a pattern if the shape of the pattern is strictly checked. This means that, even if a lot consisting of a substrate group of a fixed quantity (e.g., 25 wafers) is processed (patterned) by using only one cluster-type imprint apparatus, a pattern transfer error may occur when the lot is processed by different modules included therein. On the other hand, in order to keep high pattern transfer accuracy, a method for operating the cluster-type imprint apparatus by fixing the relationship between substrates and individual modules in advance may be conceived. However, in production lines, substrates are fed to and recovered from the cluster-type imprint apparatus by taking a lot as a management unit and the number of substrates included in a lot decreases along with the progress of production. Thus, the simple fixation of the relationship between substrates and individual modules may readily cause a module to sit in the standby state in which no substrate is fed, resulting in a reduction in productivity.
Hence, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-257141 discloses a process control apparatus that groups a plurality of apparatuses into groups of apparatuses while focusing on their characteristics and then changes the management target from individual apparatuses to the groups of apparatuses so as to manage the relationship between the groups of apparatuses and lots.
Here, the application of the process control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-257141 to a controller for controlling modules included in the cluster-type imprint apparatus is not readily adaptable to typical production lines. In other words, in order to apply the process control apparatus to the current production lines by setting a substrate as a unit for management, an MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and in-plant conveyance equipment need to be replaced at the plant factory equipment level. In the cluster-type imprint apparatus, the conveyance mechanism is shared between modules within the apparatus, and thus, substrates cannot be independently fed/recovered between individual modules and the exterior of the apparatus, which is also another reason for being unable to apply the process control apparatus to the current production lines.